Davos 2014: Water aid work blocked by capital access – Damon

Jan. 22 - Hollywood actor and water campaigner Matt Damon tells Reuters the biggest obstacle to expanding the work of charity water.org is access to capital, despite strong returns.

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I was talking about Matt Damon Hollywood's not had Damon to star attraction in doubles this year it seems lost tonight the actor picked up. The crystal awards for his humanitarian work founding war to go to war. Along with Gary -- David told Reuters Angelina on how it all started when he met a young gun in Zambia. We went together. Six to collect this water and in the course talking to -- You know I masters he was gonna stay in this rural villages she said known -- dominant -- moved to the big city of the -- -- an Indian nurse. Mention at all these great streams and and we went collected the water and then went back through. To her moment and I realize as I was leaving that encounter. That had someone not -- before well within a mile of her house she she wouldn't. Have dreams of going to school she wouldn't have she she would be spending her entire life scavenger for water. And it just it just struck me because that. Because I really connected to this kid she reminded me of me and and Ben Affleck and we were fourteen and we were gonna go to the big city of New York to be actors. And and I noticed is to have a dream like that and and and every kitchen have won and and and so. You know this staggering loss of life that's it attached to this issue. You know that's that's that's one thing but they're all these other layers of just how it just. The lack of lack of access to clean water just just just crushes people's dreams. Please talking to here and topless one on one meetings. What we'll -- -- we have a number of these these side sessions kind of planned and and and and you know meeting with various heads of foundations and and and and hopefully. Kind of shinning up as much excitement as we -- we can take or more meetings but it gets -- three top leaders who would -- be gracious -- I can't there's. That's put me on this. Three top leaders. I don't know who would you I mean Bermuda as much in India I think prime minister there you know that the leadership from the Indian delegation here. Would be people it definitely wanted to talk to. We're just launching work with the caterpillar foundation in Indonesia the Philippines. And so I think as we embark on now water credit and our initiatives as countries that be great to connect with those folks as well. Another key theme in doubles is that it quite -- scene. The widening gap between the rich and of course you consent at this is not sticking to get was in the next ten years. No because we're gonna engage with the issue and we're gonna fix it and then we really can. And part of the kind of what you got in the pipeline the next piceance. Well where were scaling up water credit and and that's. That we mean we passed our first million people reached last October. And we're gonna we're gonna reach our second million by the end of this year so it's going alive -- you know it's -- on an exponential curve. Where are big our big road block right now. According to all of our micro finance partners has access to affordable capital so they leave it in the appetite for the loans is out there. You know these are loans that are paying back at 98%. You know this is that this is a good deal and so so so hopefully we're we can we can find creative ways to. Two just to scale this up.

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